sturt

Hard to see Patterson making the cut with the addition of Bembry. So, to the original post.... total guess on my part, but I'm expecting to see Baze get something in the $15-ish m territory.

My wish list starts with merely following the same rules in the post season that were (essentially) followed during the regular season. I despise the post season reffing that goes on, and that's whether we won or lost... never mind the games we didn't play in, since I didn't watch... I don't consider this combination of basketball and rugby that goes on to be entertaining. And it just creates more latitude for the refs to conveniently miss calls or make calls that further the NBA-is-fixed narrative as it always has

Deng had some exceptional playoff games. There's no doubt he still can contribute and be a factor. The bigger question is, how many years can you feel good about offering him.

Anyone ever heard of this hawksfanatic? Think this homework he's done is reliable? http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2016/6/22/12008602/jeff-teague-trade-atlanta-hawks-salary-cap-update (*wink*)

I dunno. Light years seems to be an overstatement, given how far away we have been as recently as 10 years ago. Dangerous? Difficult, yes, but I'd have to be convinced on "dangerous." Given all we've been through the last 20-30 years since we were a serious threat at times w/ Nique in a whole different era of the game, I'm hard pressed to see any less dangerous route. We've blown up teams before, but only ended up scratching and clawing our way back to relevance. And given the options before us at the Summer 2016 milepost, I'm not seeing any viable alternative approaches. But I try to be open-minded, @kg01, so don't hesitate to present a different case as you see it.

Right, Supes. It's a team option, same as Mack was given.

As asserted in another thread, the answer, as boring as it might be, is player development. GSW was an also-ran hamster-wheel franchise for how many years? How many years did it take before Curry became Curry? What would their fortunes had been without the development of a 2nd rounder named Green? Conclusion.... our immediate future is pegged on the development of our 26-and-younger players, and most prominently, Schröder becoming an elite PG and Bazemore not plateauing but continuing to develop into what could be the most elite defensive SG in the league.

Splitter's gotten too easily written off, imo, by too many.... we actually were playing very well with him in the rotation for about a month as I recall.

We haven't spent much time talking about Scott (at least in the threads I've visited)... His situation is unique because if you pick up his option, you're inviting fate to intervene and see that $3.3m on the spreadsheet become dead money... that is, at any time, his legal troubles are poised to bite him, and whoever has him under contract, in the bum. (It's a whole other topic, but it's flat out amazing to me that he and us didn't already get bitten, and at some point, it will invite commentary on the integrity of the legal system and, ostensibly, the league's enforcement of the CBA.) Soooooo.... if he were to be traded, the only teams that would seem to reasonably be interested would be those that are going to be well under the cap, and so, regardless, Scott's situation wouldn't really impact them. I'm of the opinion that there's too few of those teams to really matter to the discussion, but I know I could be very wrong about that. I'm more inclined to think we turn down the team option, and look to re-sign him at something that won't hurt very much if we end up losing him. Of course, he could sign anywhere once we turn down the option, so nothing's a given.

That's an interesting thought that I hadn't seriously given any oxygen to.... is that statement just your own conclusion, or did this come from The Shadow?

...based on these premises: 1) Supes' intel is correct on Deng. 2) Budcox has, indeed, decided that Bazemore is the future. 3) Horford is, indeed, in the proverbial barn. 4) My own inclination that the minutes voided by Teague's exit will be filled by a veteran scoring PG. 5) That while we don't pick up Scott's option, we re-sign him for a lower number (which I think only makes sense for both parties). 6) Like every other rookie that preceded them during this regime, Bembry and Prince will spend most of their first year either filling-in for injured players or playing for a D-league team... hopefully, our very own, btw. 7) Wilcox's draft night words should be taken sincerely to mean they really do regard Bembry as a legit distributor, and thus capable of filling the 3rd PG slot. Does this roster get us to conference contender status? The first reaction for most is probably "no".... but what might be missing from that first reaction is an appreciation for what Budcox sees (a) in Schröder's improvement, (b) in Bazemore continuing to improve further, and (c) in finally having Splitter for a full year. Then, there's also some reason for optimism that Hardaway, Muscala, and in particular, Tavares will all progress, mature and improve. So... yes... I can see us actually achieving something with this roster, but it almost completely depends on Schröder and Bazemore taking that next step and asserting themselves as one of the most potent backcourts in the East.

Great idea in theory, but then the salary cap still intervenes and complicates the pursuit. I think the Hawks regime has the right approach. You have to resist the cynicism that so easily creeps in and makes light of player development, and rather, honestly and seriously emphasize that. Take the players you have and constantly see them improving in those areas where there's room for improvement. We appear to be very good at that. To the question "whos gonna score"... First, I never viewed Dennis as a reliable scorer. But, point well taken, it's why I'm inclined toward Brandon Jennings to take the minutes voided by Teague's exit.

First, the more you play with the second unit, the more likely this is going to be the case. But too, as @benhillboy said in the post right after this, McCollum wasn't chopped liver, of course. But that's another reason their left brains would be disinclined to match.

I have a different opinion than those I see so far in what I've read here. Deng can give you 15-20 good minutes every night. He is best cast as a part-time starter. What's more, he can give you those 15-20 good minutes every night playing... legitimately... both at the 3 and the 4.... at that, probably all of Mike Scott's minutes (...who, we dare not forget, has been hanging by a legal string all this past year, and who it would be unreasonable to risk taking on that $3.3m for 2016-17). So, I see a real role for him here, but like anything else, the price has to be right.

Tough to justify paying your back-up SG $15m (or more). Tough to justify.... if you really/truly/honestly are sold out that all other possible acquisitions amount to only treading water (or worse)... being unwilling to take the risk b/c of what you otherwise might miss out signing while POR deliberates. Given more thought since posting last night, to me, this really comes down to either this move, or putting your faith in the idea that the progress Baze made this season is going to continue to even greater things... ie, that we have a star in the making in him. I don't dismiss the possibility. It's something that has to be objectively and seriously evaluated. Baze hasn't just elevated his game offensively each season he's been here, but he's even improved in a significant way on his defensive numbers. The case can be made that Baze is on a path to elite defender status, and with any continued improvement offensively, we might have an exceptional player developing right in front of our eyes. All-Star? Elite defenders don't make All-Star games. But for that reason, I'm not sure that the measure of whether he projects as a future All-Star is actually meaningful to our purposes of competing for a championship. To wit, DMC was the only one of the starting 5 season before last to not make the ASG, and yet, hardly anyone fails to recognize his value to our own team's success. But what still might give Crabbe an edge is age... at nearly 3 years younger than Baze, there's more reason to believe in the likelihood of his continuing to develop, and, at that, the likelihood of a higher ceiling. I think there are good arguments for both. In terms of what ideally would happen, I'm inclined to think Crabbe is a slightly better option. In terms of will actually happen, because signing Baze is a simpler process and we have an upper-hand in signing him, that probably will be what tilts things in favor of that option.

Not necessarily against that, but would want to study it more. Nice thing about RFAs.... you offer, and if you can't reel the fish in, you can go on to the next one.... so, offer one, and if you don't get him, then offer the other.

So the attitude of many around here is, if you can't get Durant, or at least Derozan, you're just not going to improve this roster sufficiently to give us a shot at the next level. Probably true. So, is that it? Is that all? Might we just as well blow it up? It's easy to think that. But I'd like to present an alternative, which is to assess whether there might be an upward-trending RFA worth the risk whose current team would be hard pressed to justify a big contract. You're already ahead of me, since you read the subject header.... I present to you Allen Crabbe. Allen Crabbe is not an elite talent at 24 yrs old. He isn't even considered a starter for the Blazers. But how likely is it that he's going to build on what he's achieved so far? I think so. Could he start for the Hawks? I'm pretty certain of that much. What would it take to obtain him? Taking a risk by extending a contract offer to him that is too pricey for the Blazers to give to a guy who isn't going to supplant the incumbent (McCollum). What is the number that would achieve that? Only my guess, but I'd imagine $15m/per is in that ballpark. Wow. Geez. That's a lot. Yes, but it's several million from the max ($23m). Is he worth it? All I can say for sure is, there's a lot of reason to think so.... based on his comps vs. Derozan after appx . the same number of games: But you just drafted 3 wings. Is it really wise to make this kind of commitment? On that one, I have to say almost certainly yes.... this is a player who you already know can play at this level. And wrapping this thing up before I turn it over to the jury gathered here... thoughts from some Blazers media types talking about the prospect of his exit vs. the Blazers replacing him.... http://oregonsportsnews.com/team-news/portland-trail-blazers/portland-trail-blazers-offseason-roundtable-who-stays-who-goes-who-do-you-sign.html So put me down for some Crabbe, please.

Not sure I can look at his history nor his D-league time and make that case. To wit, he had never had such an atrocious year, and, he experienced in D-league essentially the same futility that he did when he played for Bud. Don't get me wrong, I was one advocating for his release as late as April in order to add Dorell Wright for the postseason. But I did argue with myself a lot--seems likely that his struggles were temporary. (But I digress.... )

W/O being aware of the FA and trade scenarios that are on the table, I'm slow to pass judgment. Need to see what develops in the next few weeks first.

Billy Knight...?!?.... is that you?!?

Please. Is the nauseating word picture really necessary? (hehe) Back to the actual topic... Bradley must have been chanelling my frontal cortex as he wrote these wise, even profound ( ;) ), words... http://markbradley.blog.myajc.com/2016/06/23/the-hawks-get-their-wings-and-theres-nothing-wrong-with-that/

http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2016/6/24/12023676/atlanta-hawks-roster-free-agency-nba-draft

Exactly where my mind went when reading the subject header... Nets fans were ecstatic. Of course, there are differences, mainly that Teague and T-Young still have plenty in the tank. But then, it's not like IND just acquired key pieces from a recent league champion. I actually like both players, and some might recall I lobbied long and hard (that's what she said) to get T-Young a couple of off-seasons or so ago. So naturally, I like what IND has done, but there is such a thing as going overboard. It is not certain that Teague will re-sign, and it is nowhere near certain that T-Young is prepared to produce at a rate congruent with his salary.

Honestly, I see little reason to think they both won't be doing the D-League shuffle in their rookie year like pretty much every pick of this regime before them. I reserve the right to change my mind, though, based on what we see in Summer League. Conventional wisdom says if we're going to improve somehow this season, it's going to take a major surprise development in FA.

Sounds like #12 was the perfect slot, really, not knowing precisely how things would pan out... a slot to where Sabonis could have fallen, and yet, too, a slot where it was safe to say Prince should be available. Would have loved to have added Arvidas' kid, if only for sentimental reasons of what could have been (... aside from Dr. J, probably our most disappointing "almost" acquisition).